


Ready when you are

by FindingSchmomo, notallballs (notallbees)



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Coming Out, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Grief/Mourning, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29964774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FindingSchmomo/pseuds/FindingSchmomo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/notallbees/pseuds/notallballs
Summary: "What're you smiling about?" Reki asked, grinning back at him.Langa shrugged. "You. I like your bedhead."Reki snorted, and reached up to ruffle Langa's hair. "You're one to talk." He let his fingertips trail down the side of Langa's face, then leaned in to kiss him softly.After Langa spends the night, the two boys end up having a conversation about the way things are between them.
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 23
Kudos: 297





	Ready when you are

**Author's Note:**

> so we had this idea and couldn't get it out of our heads, we hope you enjoy!!
> 
> also please forgive us for TOTALLY stealing a line from horimiya. it was just too perfect for langa. watch horimiya.

Langa’s eyes fluttered open, coaxed by the light pouring through the window. He was warm and comfortable, and he murmured sleepily to himself about it being too early, and buried his face further into his pillow, only to realize he wasn’t resting on one at all. Opening his eyes again, Langa saw a blur of bare, freckled skin, and the underside of Reki's chin. His chest rose and fell slowly under Langa's cheek, and his heartbeat was a slow, steady drumbeat under Langa's ear. 

Langa usually ran cold, and his bed was armed with blankets to help him sleep through the night. But here, in this moment, he was perfectly at ease, unable to tell where he ended and Reki began. In a slow, delicious wave that made him smile instinctively, memories of the previous night rolled over him: the rumpled sheets caught between them, Reki's callused fingertips stroking over his bare skin, the sound of him whispering in the darkness. He closed his eyes tightly at the memory of Reki's voice, the breathless sounds he'd made when Langa touched him.

With a contented sigh, Langa twisted his head up to see that Reki was still asleep, head tilted toward him and mouth hanging open. Langa snorted at the sight, but thankfully Reki didn't stir. Relaxing into him again, Langa found himself tracing soft lines along Reki’s naked chest with his fingers, connecting the faint red marks he had made with an imaginary line. 

After a moment, Reki stirred, rolling into him and throwing his leg over Langa's thighs. He opened his eyes then, and a warm smile slid over his face. "Mm, hey."

"Hey," Langa replied softly, watching him with rapt attention. It wasn't his first time seeing Reki up close first thing in the morning, but it was the first time either one of them had stayed the night since they'd started fooling around. 

"What're you smiling about?" Reki asked, grinning back at him. 

Langa shrugged. "You. I like your bedhead."

Reki snorted, and reached up to ruffle Langa's hair. "You're one to talk." He let his fingertips trail down the side of Langa's face, then leaned in to kiss him softly. 

Langa wrinkled his nose. "Morning breath," he muttered, at Reki's frown. 

"You have it too," Reki murmured, leaning in to kiss him again, and when Langa squirmed away from him, kept kissing down his neck instead, clutching his arms around Langa's waist. 

"Hey!" Langa panted, laughing. "Stop!" 

Reki laughed into his neck. "No," he said, wrapping his legs around Langa's to hold him in place. "Stay still, I'm gonna eat you for breakfast."

Langa cackled with laughter, but as he wriggled to try and escape Reki's tickling, he happened to glance over at the clock on Reki's desk. "Oh no—Reki, stop!" 

"Not letting you escape," Reki muttered, gnawing at his shoulder. 

"No!" Langa batted at Reki's hands. "Reki! We're late!"

Reki ignored him at first, intent on his mission. “It’s Saturday.”

Langa stopped resisting briefly and squinted up at Reki, counting in his head to make sure. “Reki, it’s Friday.”

Reki finally stopped mauling him and stared down at him. “No, it’s not.”

Langa managed to prop himself up on his elbows, forcing Reki to climb off of him. “We went straight to your house after school yesterday. Because we don’t work on Thursdays.”

“Yeah,” Reki nodded along, and then his eyes widened, “Oh shit! It’s Friday! What time is it?”

They both leapt off the bed, although Langa immediately stepped on his own board, which he'd forgotten to push under the bed. He yelped as his foot skidded out from under him, but Reki caught him with a hand on his forearm, keeping him from face planting into the hardwood. 

"See now why I always tell you to put it away?" Reki said, grinning. "Made that mistake one too many times."

Langa scowled at him. He was annoyed at himself for his clumsiness—usually more Reki's arena—and he was annoyed that they couldn't stay in bed. He was tempted to suggest that they stay in bed for another hour anyway, but they had Chemistry that morning with Maezono-sensei, and Langa was terrified by the prospect of having to sneak in and risk being subjected to their teacher’s wrath. Maezono-sensei was not a forgiving person.

Reki was already digging through his pile of disordered clothing, and Langa watched with idle regret as Reki pulled on a pair of boxers and his school pants. The brief glimpse of Reki's ass disappearing into his clothes made him wish he'd woken up earlier so that he could've enjoyed Reki being naked for a little longer. Picking up his own clothes, Langa hopped on one foot as he tried to force his leg into his own tangled school pants, then reached for his discarded white shirt. Even without lifting it to his face, the smell made him grimace. They had spent the entire evening yesterday skating, and his shirt reeked from several hours exercising in the sun. 

"Ugh," Langa said, dropping his hands.

“Borrow one of mine,” Reki said. He pulled another crumpled shirt out of his pile of discarded clothing and tossed it to Langa. 

Langa huffed, lifting the shirt to his face. “Is it even clean?” he asked, squinting at a brown mark on the sleeve. "Is this soy sauce?"

“It’s clean enough,” Reki snapped back. He had already donned his yellow hoodie and was pulling his gakuran on over the top. "You need a clean t-shirt?"

Langa nodded, and when Reki turned away to search through his drawers, Langa lifted the shirt to his face again and inhaled deeply. It smelled of Reki: warm blankets and wood oil and summer time. Clean or not, the thought of smelling like Reki all day made him smile. He quickly finished dressing, and the two of them scooped up their boards and school bags and barrelled out into the kitchen.

"Reki!" Reki's mother cried. "I thought you'd left already!" Noticing Langa, she smiled at him and added, "Oh hello, sweetheart. I didn't know you were staying over."

"...Sorry, Kyan-san," he mumbled.

She laughed. "It's fine, it's fine. You're welcome anytime, you know that."

"Mom! We have to go!" 

"Your lunch is right there, Reki," his mother said patiently, giving him a brief, remonstrative look. Then, to Langa, "Haruka forgot her lunch, so why don't you take it, Langa?"

"Oh...thank you," he said, reaching out for the pink furoshiki-wrapped bentou. 

Reki huffed. "Come on," he said, stalking out of the room. Over his shoulder he called, "See you later!"

Langa started to follow, but he paused as he reached the door. "Ah...thank you for letting me stay, Kyan-san."

Her eyes crinkled at him. "Langa," she said gently. "When you leave home in the morning, you're supposed to say 'see you later'." 

Langa's eyes widened as he realised her meaning, disguised as it was by her gently correcting his Japanese, and a sense of warmth and belonging flooded through him. "See you later," he said, breaking into a grateful smile. 

"Langa!" Reki shouted from the hallway. "Come _on_!" 

Langa hurried out to put his shoes on, and the two of them rushed out into the street. Once they were out, it wasn't so bad; as long as they headed straight to school, they would only be a few minutes late. As they skated along, Langa excitedly conveyed what Reki's mother had said to him, but Reki only shuddered and pulled a face at him.

"What is it?" Langa asked, hurt. 

"No, no, not about that," Reki sighed. "It's just—I'm pretty sure she _knows_."

"Knows?"

"About us," Reki said with a grim look on his face. 

Langa hummed, wondering when it could have come up; Reki had seemed fine with his mother the night before, and there hadn't been time for them to talk that morning. "Did she say something to you?" 

Reki shook his head. "I can just tell. She knows we're—" He broke off, which left Langa disappointed; neither of them had put a name to what they were doing yet, and he'd been hoping Reki would do so. "Whatever."

"Is it bad? If she knows?" Langa asked eventually.

"Let's not talk about it," Reki said, shaking his head. 

Langa obediently let it drop. As far as he knew, Reki didn't think of himself as gay, or bi, or anything other than just a guy who enjoyed making out with his best friend. Langa wasn't sure how to begin to ask him about it. 

He also didn’t want to risk straying into an area that made him vaguely uncomfortable. He knew Canada and Japan had a very different culture around this stuff, and that the way he had been able to grow up wasn’t as common here. He was grateful for the opportunities he'd had back in Canada, but he didn’t like thinking about the differences too much. It was a path that led down a darker and darker corridor, all the way to a door he had sealed up shut before he moved away. 

In their shared silence, the school building came into view. Reki sped up his pace, kicking out with his foot. Langa took it as a challenge, smiling as he leaned forward to rush down the hill, but when he passed Reki he found the other boy wasn’t smiling at all. In fact, his face looked grim, stretched unnaturally downward. 

Was it possible for Reki to frown while on a skateboard?

Langa was so shocked by this troubling discovery he missed the turn and crashed right into the wall. Reki came to his own screeching halt to help him up. “Hey! You okay?” he asked quickly, hauling Langa up by the hand. "I haven't seen you wipeout that bad since you started."

“Yeah,” Langa replied. Reki let go of his hand quickly after that and Langa stared down at his empty palm. He frowned, his other hand working to massage the bump forming on his forehead. He was about to ask why Reki had let go when he looked up to see that Reki had already turned away, his skateboard tucked under his arm. 

“Come on, we can make it if we hurry,” Reki said. He didn’t look back at Langa to say it. 

Langa scrambled after him lest he be left behind. They kicked their outdoor shoes off and stuffed them into their lockers, then took the stairs up to their classroom two at a time, thankful to at least have empty halls to navigate. 

As they approached the science room, they caught sight of Maezono-sensei just ahead of them. Sprinting the final steps, they ducked into the back door of the classroom and fell into their seats just in time for Maezono-sensei to step in front of the chalkboard. He shot them a stern look, but it seemed they had managed to get away with it this time. 

Langa grinned, turning to look at Reki beside him and offer his fist for a triumphant bump, but Reki’s hand was nowhere to be seen. In fact, Reki wasn’t even looking at him. His head was twisted the other way to stare out the window, and Langa could see in the glass the same grim expression reflected back. 

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Maezono-sensei’s words cut through the murmur of the class to start roll call. He guessed it would have to wait. 

—

After school, the two of them took their usual route to the skate shop, stopping off at the convenience store on the way to buy a snack. Langa didn't have a shift that afternoon, but Reki would be busy in the workshop, and he never usually minded Langa tagging along to watch him work. This time, however, Reki paused at the entrance to the shop. 

"You don't have to hang around."

Langa blinked at him. "Where else would I go?"

Reki snorted. "Come on, you're not that desperate for amusement that you'd rather watch me refit some guy's board."

Langa just looked at him, trying to figure out what he should say. Reki was probably right; Langa could find something else to do if he really wanted to, but he didn't want to. "Do you want me to go?"

"Ah, well," Reki said in a sheepish tone, clasping his hand over the back of his neck. "Nah, I'd kinda like you to stay. That doesn't mean you gotta do it though."

"I want to," Langa said. 

Reki sighed, but he tossed a grin at Langa as he pushed open the door. "Come on then."

—

Reki was quiet while he worked, which wasn't that unusual, but he usually gave more of a running commentary about what he was doing, explaining each step to Langa. Langa tried prodding him with questions once or twice, but Reki only gave short responses, and seemed more distracted than usual, as though he wasn't paying attention to his work either. 

Langa sat and watched him work, but when Reki made his third mistake of the evening, cursing softly as he realized what he'd done, Langa set his hands down on the workbench.

"Enough."

"No, I'm nearly finished—"

Langa shook his head. "Enough. You need to take a break."

Reki looked like he might argue, but after a moment his shoulders slumped and he nodded. Oka had already left about thirty minutes earlier, so Reki locked up the shop, and the two of them made their way to a park halfway back to Langa's house.

"You want to talk about something, right?" Langa asked, as they reached the park. 

Reki huffed. "No. What would I want to talk about?"

"I don't know," Langa said. "I'm not good at guessing that stuff like you are. I can just tell something's bothering you."

"Not exactly," Reki sighed, glancing away from him. He reached up to the back of his neck again, tugging on his headband before pulling it off entirely and running his fingers through his hair. "I guess I'm—I feel weird that my mom knows about us."

Langa glanced around; it was around dinnertime, and getting dark, so they had the park to themselves. He walked over to sit down beside a wall and patted the space next to him for Reki to join him. 

Reki hesitated for several moments, his hands burrowed deep in his pockets. But then he followed Langa, setting down his bag and sliding his back down the wall until they sat side by side with their arms pressed together. The evening wind was chilly and Reki ended up pulling his sleeves down low so that only his fingertips were visible in the dimming light. He was stilling holding his headband, and he kept tugging it between his fingers, fidgeting with it absently.

Langa watched him and waited. 

After a moment, Reki groaned, stretching his headband taught and letting his head fall back against the wall. “I guess, I just...” He paused and let out a great big sigh, “I never really thought much about this kind of stuff. And now that she knows, it feels like I’m gonna have to. And, well...I don’t know.”

Langa nodded, bringing his knees up so he could rest the palms of his hands atop them. He tapped his index finger idly as he spoke, “You don’t have to know. It’s okay not to know.”

“How did _you_ know?” Reki asked, his head turning sharply toward Langa. 

Langa blinked, “Know what?”

“That you're, _you_ know.”

“Gay?” Langa said. He said it easily, without thinking, but he caught the barest flinch on Reki's face. Trying to remind himself that it was okay if Reki didn't have his identity all figured out yet, Langa shrugged and looked out at the park, the setting sun on the horizon. “I think I always knew. I don’t really know if there was any one moment. I guess it helped that I had my dad there.” Langa swallowed, his hands twitching slightly. Instead of tapping, he curled his fingers down to dig into the fabric of his jeans. He quickly moved on. “And then I was kind of immersed in it in high school.”

“Immersed?” Reki repeated, heat rising to his face. “I thought—you mean like dating? I thought you never dated anyone.”

Langa shook his head. “No, no, I ended up getting roped into being secretary for the LGBTQ club. No one else wanted to do it.”

“Woah,” Reki said. 

“Yeah.” Langa snorted. “Kind of lame.”

“It’s cool your school had one of those,” Reki replied, tilting his head up to look at the sky. 

Langa licked his lips before pursing them tightly together. He’d done a lot to forget about those days, shoving the thoughts deep into boxes and pushing them behind a door. Not that they were bad memories. In fact, just the opposite. They were some of the happiest times of his life. 

At least before meeting Reki. 

“It was fun, I guess,” Langa started, feeling the need to offer Reki _something_ , “We mostly did fundraising stuff and helped with awareness week.” Once he started, however, it became harder to stop, each memory flooding back to him and pushing against the door in his heart. He took in a shaky breath. “We had to do so many bake sales. And I always ended up being in charge because my dad—my dad would bake these—these rainbow cookies. They were really obnoxious, when you bit into them they were full of M&Ms. At first I would try to hide the flyers from him, but he was also really nosy about the club since he never got the chance to be a part of one when he was growing up.”

Reki's eyes widened. "Your dad...he was like that too?"

Langa nodded. "He was bisexual. So he liked both—"

"I know what it _means_ , Langa," Reki said, rolling his eyes. He seemed to regret it when Langa pressed his lips together tightly, and his face fell. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—I mean, you do know way more about this stuff than me. I wanna listen, if you'll tell me."

Langa leaned against him gratefully. "Thanks," he murmured, wondering where to start. 

"So your dad—he had your back?"

"Mm." Langa nodded. "He and Mom always took me to Pride, ever since I was a kid."

"Wow," Reki breathed out.

Langa bit his lip. "Dad was just—he knew when I—" He broke off momentarily, trying to find the words. His throat was tight, and he swallowed past it with difficulty. "I always knew I could come out to them if I needed to, but it's still hard, you know? And—I think he could tell I w-wanted to—so he came out to me first."

Reki slid his hand into Langa's lap, taking one of his hands and lacing their fingers together. "I'm sorry I didn't get to meet him. He sounds really great."

Langa nodded, words failing him. 

"Hey," Reki murmured, turning to him fully. He reached up and used his sleeve to wipe Langa's cheek. "Are you okay?"

Until that moment, Langa hadn't realised he was crying. He nodded weakly, but then his face crumpled and the tears spilled over in force. He put his arms around Reki's neck, a sob coming loose when Reki hugged him back tightly. 

"S-sorry," Langa stammered. "I—hn—d-didn't m-mean to get upset."

"Shh, Reki soothed, patting him between his shoulder blades. "It's okay." 

"I m-miss him so much," Langa managed through his tears. "It's not fair."

"I know. It's okay."

Reki held him for a minute or two until his sobs calmed, then he finally drew back, moving his hands up to cup Langa's wet face. "I'm sorry," he said in a solemn voice, gently wiping Langa's cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm sorry for freaking out, and not knowing what I want."

Langa hiccuped, and swallowed down the tightness in his throat so he could reply. "Do you—not want to be my boyfriend?"

Reki's eyes widened. "Of course I do!"

Langa smiled. "You do?"

"Yes!" Reki said, starting to laugh. He leaned in and pressed his forehead against Langa's for just a moment, then started to kiss his face, licking the salt off his damp cheeks, kissing his closed eyelids, the corner of his mouth.

"Reki," Langa said with a longing sigh, turning his face slightly to meet Reki's lips with his own. 

Langa’s fingers searched for purchase on Reki, curling around the collar of his hoodie. He tilted his head, letting his mouth fall open just as Reki’s did. The tears continued to roll down his face, slipping between the gaps in their lips and staining their tongues with salt, but Reki didn't seem to mind, and Langa didn't want to pull away to ask. He sank into Reki’s warmth, soft noises escaping without his permission. Now that the dam had broken, it was impossible for him to curb the soft moans and whimpers that Reki drew from his throat. 

Reki did pull back eventually, but his hands remained, cupping Langa’s face. He used his thumbs to wipe away the tears again and smiled. “You look like such a mess.”

Langa sniffled. “You don’t even wash your clothes properly.”

Reki laughed, the sound jumping out of his chest. The force of it threw his head back, and Langa couldn’t help but grin at him from his place leaning into Reki’s hands. When Reki brought his face back down, he pressed his forehead to Langa’s, closing his eyes. “God, I love you.”

Langa's heart stuttered in his chest. “You do?”

Reki hummed. “I don’t know much. But that’s one thing I’m sure about.”

"Oh." Langa felt like he might start crying again, but in a good way this time. He gave Reki a watery smile. "I—love you too."

"Aw, you can do better than that!" Reki said, grinning. "Say it like you mean it."

"Of course I mean it!" Langa said, laughing. He reached up for Reki's hands and linked their fingers together, squeezing Reki's hands tightly in his lap. "I love you. And...it's okay if you're not ready to talk to your mom, but...if you want, maybe you could talk to mine."

Reki's eyes widened. "Huh. That's actually a pretty good idea."

Langa snorted. "Don't sound so surprised."

Grinning, Reki leaned in and clumsily kissed his cheek. "Tell me again," he whispered, his big eyes shining in the dim light. "I like hearing it."

Langa rolled his eyes. "You're so full of yourself."

"No—o," Reki wailed, throwing his arms around Langa's neck. 

After a moment, Langa sighed and put his arms around Reki again, hugging him back tightly. He felt wrung out, but good. He hoped he could convey to Reki how much he appreciated him by squeezing him as hard as possible. However, they had been out for a long time, and it was at least an hour since they'd finished their snacks from the convenience store.

"Hey," Langa said. "Can we get something to eat?"

Reki pulled back, laughing again. "Yeah," he said, reaching up to ruffle Langa's hair, something he did often; this time, however, he slid his hand down to Langa's cheek, and carefully tucked his hair behind his ear. "Ready when you are."

Langa nodded. "Ready."

**Author's Note:**

> [find bees on twitter](https://twitter.com/notallbees/) | [sk8 fic by bees](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notallbees/works?fandom_id=52382346)  
> [find schmomo on twitter](https://twitter.com/findingschmomo) | [sk8 fic by schmomo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FindingSchmomo/works?fandom_id=52382346)  
> 
> 
> renga wedding WHEN


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